This is a blog by a Memphian who wants to share his unique perspective, along with some interesting facts & information, about cycling in & around the city of Memphis.

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Friday, March 27, 2015

Battle may be looming over future of bike lanes on Riverside Drive

Battle
may be looming over future of bike lanes on Riverside Drive
By:Michael Lander

Memphis City Engineer John Cameron conducted the third public meeting and
presented the two final alternative plans for Riverside Drive. Even though he
received support from the cyclists who attended the meeting, he also received
some negative feedback from many who felt that they had been left out of
the selection process.

The last big battle
to be fought near the bluffs of downtown Memphis occurred
during the American Civil War on June 6, 1862.

Today, a new battle may soon be waged, but this one may be over the fate of
bicycle lanes on Riverside Drive.

On Thursday, March 26, the Memphis City engineers, led by City Engineer John
Cameron, held what was supposed to be a third and final public meeting on the
long-term configuration of Riverside
Drive.

After city engineers looked at the responses that they had gotten from surveys,
(showing 46-48 percent favoring bike lanes), and they looked at the feedback that
they had received from two earlier public meetings, they came up with two
alternative plans, both of which included bike and pedestrian lanes that also put
vehicles on both sides of the median on Riverside Drive.

The first design, Alternative A, has two bike lanes together on the western
edge (near the sidewalk), with a turn lane for vehicles. The second,
Alternative B, has bike lanes on the outer edges of the street with one bike
lane going north and is separated from another going south.

Even though the reason for the meeting was to have the public help to decide
between which of the two plans that they preferred, there was a significant
amount of opposition to either one of them by many of those who were at the meeting.

Many of those who spoke against these plans were either business owners or residents
of the downtown area.The general consensus
for many of them was that they felt that they had been left out of the decision-making
process, that their voices were not being heard, and that their preferred
option of returning Riverside Drive to a thoroughfare was not even being
considered as an option.

There were approximately 60 people who attended the third meeting on
the possible redesign, or reconfiguration, of Riverside Drive. Over half
of those at this meeting, like Pat Kerr Tigrett, (pictured in the back and
center of this photo), were opposed to the city making any changes at
all to Riverside Drive.

Memphis
City Council Chairmen, Myron Lowery, and District 7 Councilman, Berlin Boyd,
who attended this meeting, planned to bring this matter up with the mayor and
to place it on the council’s agenda.

In June 2014, Riverside Drive had been temporarily reconfigured, with the west
bound lane made into a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane, as a pilot project
to see the impact that this would have on traffic. The reason for doing this
was based on a recommendation
by renowned urban planner Jeff Speck who suggested a more accessible and more
aesthetic riverfront for our city.
The city had planned to proceed with implementing one of the two alternative
plans for Riverside Drive after this year’s Memphis In May festival.

While many of those at this latest public meeting expressed a common refrain of not
having anything against cyclists, or insisting that this isn’t an "us" (motorists,
businesses, and residents) "against the cyclists" issue, instead, they see this as being
more of a problem of traffic congestion and a concern for the safety of motorists.

Cameron said that he thought that the installation of turn lanes (in
Alternative A), and separating the vehicles with a median, would likely help to reduce
accidents and would alleviate congestion.

One of the other big concerns for many of those at the meeting was whether or
not other roads would be able to handle the sheer volume of heavy traffic if
Riverside Drive is not returned to its original configuration.

With Bass Pro opening soon and several residential buildings being built, (like
the one in the former Chisca Hotel), many at the meeting believed that traffic congestion in
downtown Memphis will only get worse than it is now.

Opponents to the two alternative reconfiguration plans of Riverside Drive also
point to the city’s data, which show that only about 18 cyclists ride on the
current dedicated bike lane each day as opposed to about 13,000 to 14,000 motorists who drive on it every day.

City Councilman Berlin Boyd attended this public meeting
on Riverside Drive and he expressed his concern that there
were so many there who felt as though they had not
been given any say-so on what is done on this iconic
roadway.

The solution for some people would be to have the cyclists and pedestrians ride on the sidewalks along the river, but this really would not be a viable
option for runners, walkers or cyclists since they travel at different speeds
and by doing this, it would greatly increase the risk of them running into one
another.

Aside from that, after the Harahan
Bike and Pedestrian project is complete, Riverside Drive is expected to be the main connector for cyclists to transit from other areas and to get and
back and forth from the Harahan Bridge.

Once this occurs, Memphis should see a significant increase of cyclists and
pedestrians, (many of whom may be coming from across the country and from
around the world), but this will never happen if accommodations are not made for them now alongside Riverside Drive.

This, of course, is not just about cyclists and pedestrians, but it is also about a
vision to make Riverside Drive something more than just a thoroughfare.The area around the river can be so much more
than just a place where cars speed by, but it can be made into a park that can
be enjoyed and appreciated by those who come to marvel at the beauty that we
have along the Mississippi
River.

The only way that this can happen, though, is for other roads to be able to better accommodate a greater volume of traffic, especially if Riverside Drive is no longer able to do so.

Memphis has made great strides and considerable progress in making the city
more cyclist-friendly.Now is not the
time for us to start going backward or to reduce the chances to have a space along the river
that can be easily accessed and shared by everyone.

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About Me

I am a long-time resident of Memphis, Tennessee. I had a long active duty military career and I am now a student at the University of Memphis. I am married to a native Memphian who is a retired Memphis City School teacher. When I am not busy, or in school, you will likely find me out riding my bike or jogging around my East Memphis neighborhood. If you would like to learn more of my passion for cycling, you can follow me on twitter at - https://twitter.com/memphiscyclist, or you can check out my cycling website - http://memphiscyclist.com. If you have any questions or comments about my blogs, my website or about Memphis cycling, please feel free to contact me at mikel5061@yahoo.com.